How House Hunters (HGTV Show) really works

[Handbag Lady]

On a lot of the HHI episodes, if you really pay attention, the first shot of the couple together in the new location is usually inside of the home they chose.

 

[SaraJayne]

I about died laughing at the HH last night. The guy wanted a house with a foyer, and his girlfriend wanted a house with a laundry room. Everytime the phrase "laundry room" came up he kept saying it was wasted space. But he was intent on getting a house with a foyer. All I kept thinking was that if he was so worried about wasted space that I would have thought a foyer would be at the top of the wasted space list.

He obviously doesn't do laundry.

 

[tara lynn]

I still however enjoy them scripted or not as I enjoy seeing different home styles, architecture, prices..etc in different areas.

Same here. It never bothered me that the show is pretty much all fake. I really like seeing the houses and prices in different areas.

I also like trying to figure out which house they already bought based on their comments and reactions.

 

[Coconut36]

Same here. It never bothered me that the show is pretty much all fake. I really like seeing the houses and prices in different areas.

I also like trying to figure out which house they already bought based on their comments and reactions.

Another part I enjoy for sure...sometimes it's clear what home they bought but it's sometimes fun to try to guess based on how they act/what they say.

 

[fairestoneofall]

He obviously doesn't do laundry.

i was thinking the same thing!

at our old house, my laundry room was literally in the hallway between the garage and the rest of the house. it wasn't separated by doors--just right there. when we were looking at new houses, one thing i did pay attention to was laundry area because i wanted it to be in a room (and not a hallway).

 

[Peanut Giggleface]

Oh my goodness!! I had no idea these were scripted. Seriously!! I must be a little naive or something, but I always thought the camera crew went with the couple to look at several houses, taping all of the houses they visited. Then after the couple narrowed it down to their top three, they eliminated two of them and purchased the house. Their top three houses were the ones that made it to the show. Wow!! I will never watch this show the same way again!! Why would they do that?

 

[JaxJags08]

I watch HHI because I like seeing the homes in different parts of the world and getting an idea about prices.

It's pretty easy to figure out which house they'll pick. If the place is furnished, then that's not the one. They usually move all furniture out of the home that actually belongs to them.

 

[Disney Ella]

I'm glad they got rid of that "we got the house!" call at the end. A lot of those people just were not actors. I read on another forum that some of the houses that people looked at in HHI were not even on the market. They belonged to friends of the couple featured in the show. I wonder if they give the people on the House Hunters a checklist of words and sentences they want them to work into the conversation. You know, stuff like:

• This (gigantic) closet works for my clothes. Were are you going to put your clothes, honey?
  
• I need room for a man cave.
  
• Laminate in the kitchen?! The whole thing must be gutted and replaced with stainless steel and granite.
  
• Oh no! I liked the house at first, but now I realize I can see the neighbor's house out the window.

I wonder if you can ask to do something else other than chop vegetables, put food in the oven, etc. in the final scene that illustrates how happy you are in your new home.

 

[Coconut36]

I'm glad they got rid of that "we got the house!" call at the end. A lot of those people just were not actors. I read on another forum that some of the houses that people looked at in HHI were not even on the market. They belonged to friends of the couple featured in the show. I wonder if they give the people on the House Hunters a checklist of words and sentences they want them to work into the conversation. You know, stuff like:

• This (gigantic) closet works for my clothes. Were are you going to put your clothes, honey?
  
• I need room for a man cave.
  
• Laminate in the kitchen?! The whole thing must be gutted and replaced with stainless steel and granite.
  
• Oh no! I liked the house at first, but now I realize I can see the neighbor's house out the window.

I wonder if you can ask to do something else other than chop vegetables, put food in the oven, etc. in the final scene that illustrates how happy you are in your new home.

Hahaha..that part has always cracked me up..it seems like every episode involves a party with the friends that requires food making/chopping or even if it is just the couple/family there is the requisite food chopping/preparation shots at the end to illustrate how perfect their home is..totally cracks me up they do it over and over and over again. I always figured HGTV showed up with a bag of vegetables and a cutting board telling the couple "now go in there and chop for this scene".

 

[bigmerle1966]

Oh my goodness!! I had no idea these were scripted. Seriously!! I must be a little naive or something, but I always thought the camera crew went with the couple to look at several houses, taping all of the houses they visited. Then after the couple narrowed it down to their top three, they eliminated two of them and purchased the house. Their top three houses were the ones that made it to the show. Wow!! I will never watch this show the same way again!! Why would they do that?

I thought that was probably how the got the three but figured there were parts, like the end where they "chose" the house, that was. Some people just can't fake it.

Then there's the complaining about paint color or window treatments.

The one that gets me is Love It or List It. There is always some BIG problem and they can't give the home owners everything they want because of it and there is always nastiness between Hillary and one of the homeowners over it. Then they show "spying" video of the homeowners outside arguing over it all the while they are wearing the mics.

As for Property Brothers, some of the prices of the things they buy to put in the houses are One time they had a coffee table that was almost $2000.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

One more reason not to watch reality tv.

 

[Hrhpd]

Hahaha...yep I am just totally shocked that these shows are staged/scriped..OMG my world is just shattered

I have always known they are scripted and set up...you mean the cameras aren't just magically there when the realtor calls or when they get the results of the home inspection and they set that up instead?? Of course they are scripted..it's quite clear they are and have been from the onset. The selling ones I know even stage Open Houses with "potential" buyers..using family/friends of the realtor or neighbors to act like potential buyers.

I still however enjoy them scripted or not as I enjoy seeing different home styles, architecture, prices..etc in different areas.

I am pretty sure the prices are fictitious too.

They did a segment one time in our neighborhood. A bunch of us were wondering where they found houses so cheap in our area. This was at the height of prices, right before the crash.

Yeah, they just didn't exist. Some friends asked a few realtor friends and nope, the houses were never listed/sold at the prices claimed on House Hunters. HH was claiming low prices for houses that actually sold for up to $100,000 more than they said on the show.

 

[Nette]

I thought that was probably how the got the three but figured there were parts, like the end where they "chose" the house, that was. Some people just can't fake it.

Then there's the complaining about paint color or window treatments.

The one that gets me is Love It or List It. There is always some BIG problem and they can't give the home owners everything they want because of it and there is always nastiness between Hillary and one of the homeowners over it. Then they show "spying" video of the homeowners outside arguing over it all the while they are wearing the mics.

As for Property Brothers, some of the prices of the things they buy to put in the houses are One time they had a coffee table that was almost $2000.

SO true... and the female host is SO fakey. She's a terrible actress.

 

[Coconut36]

I am pretty sure the prices are fictitious too.

They did a segment one time in our neighborhood. A bunch of us were wondering where they found houses so cheap in our area. This was at the height of prices, right before the crash.

Yeah, they just didn't exist. Some friends asked a few realtor friends and nope, the houses were never listed/sold at the prices claimed on House Hunters. HH was claiming low prices for houses that actually sold for up to $100,000 more than they said on the show.

Hmmm..some of the prices seem somewhat on par for the area (they have done a few in my state and the prices seem fairly close) but I have no doubt there is some manipulation there too..it makes for more drama if it is above their budget for example or seems overpriced/like a steal for the area or whatever it is they are trying to set up.

The ones that get me price/size wise is on HH International..the size of an apartment and the cost sometimes associated with it compared to what someone like me is used to here in the US.

 

[LBIJim]

We have some friends that recently moved to Germany for work.. They applied to be on House Hunters International before they moved and they were recently accepted. They received a call the other day on their taping and how it actually works.

First of all, our friends have already bought their house in Germany. HGTV comes to their new place and moves everything out. They then find 2 random other houses to "show" them along with the house they've already bought. They tape them going to all three houses and commenting on them. They then have to "choose" a house (keep in mind they already own it). After they make their choice (again), HGTV flies them back to the states for the "goodbye" (also keep in mind they have moved already). At the end HGTV will move their stuff back into their house.

Also, the parts of the show where the sellers refuse the offers or the bank financing get's hung up for some reason. All scripted. It never happens.

Interesting huh? DW and I really like the show though but it's interesting to see how it really works.

Yep....the above process concerning HGTV has been discussed on various message boards before. All their shows are scripted. But I really don't care. Some are fun to watch. But sometimes the participants are really HORRIBLE actors.

Jim

 

[Andtototoo]

I thought that was probably how the got the three but figured there were parts, like the end where they "chose" the house, that was. Some people just can't fake it.

Then there's the complaining about paint color or window treatments.

The one that gets me is Love It or List It. There is always some BIG problem and they can't give the home owners everything they want because of it and there is always nastiness between Hillary and one of the homeowners over it. Then they show "spying" video of the homeowners outside arguing over it all the while they are wearing the mics.

Yikes, I loathe Love It or List It because the two main people are the WORST actors. It's so obviously and overtly scripted and fake. I saw an episode with this gay couple debating about downsizing and when they came back from looking at a new house, they just "happened" to catch the workmen in the process of ripping out their original front door with stained glass and pitched a fit because they had a historic home. Well, that's great, Lisa said, because if I don't have to replace that door, I can now afford to do XYZ! Yeah, right. The episode of that show that made me laugh out loud was when the husband of family wondering whether to LIOLI was actually an EMPLOYEE of the female host. That's just pathetic.

I had no idea these were scripted. Seriously!! I must be a little naive or something, but I always thought the camera crew went with the couple to look at several houses, taping all of the houses they visited. Then after the couple narrowed it down to their top three, they eliminated two of them and purchased the house. Their top three houses were the ones that made it to the show. Wow!! I will never watch this show the same way again!! Why would they do that?

Why? Money and time, time and money.

In the beginning, they did follow people around and it must have been so expensive. I remember one woman took forever and looked at over 100 houses because they showed her going into house after house with a number board running at the top of the screen. There was some deep doubt on the part of the realtor (which was her sister) that the buyer was ever actually going to buy a house. (I remember it because we were looking at the same time and I was relieved that someone had looked at more houses than we had.) As I recall, she spent months looking. Having camera people come back over and over is expensive. As is editing.

Not long after that, the show changed to showing just the "top 3" houses. I'd guess because it was prohibitively expensive to follow people around during a house hunt for an unknown outcome. They'd have no way of knowing how long it would take or if a deal would actually happen. Someone could look at 100 houses or someone could look at 1 house. It could 5 months for someone to find a house and then find it unexpectedly-- like it did us. Someone could look and look and then give up looking and keep on renting. Someone could get all the way through and then change their mind or they find asbestos in an inspection, etc.

 

[LBIJim]

PV, the Rinomato one anyway, is more real. The people on that were actually looking for a place, using a local realtor; didn't have to be owner(s) or in escrow like on HH.

Don't really care for the new version of Property Virgins with this Egypt lady, but I loved Sandra Rinomato. Sometimes she made a snarky comment or facial expression that gave away her true feelings towards some of these head-in-the-clouds buyers.

Jim

 

[Philagoofy]

There was a House Hunters episode on a couple of weeks ago, not sure if it was a rerun or new but the couple was looking at a house built in 2003 and they said it was dated. The kitchen would have to be ripped out. 2003 is dated??? Yea, wow, it's 9 years old, oh my.

There never seems to be a house that they really love everything about, there's always something wrong, which is totally understandable. And you wonder how they are going to pick one when there are so many things wrong with all three. Then after they choose, they say that as soon as they walked in, they knew it was their dream house and they love everything about it. Uh, ok, that's not what you said earlier.

 

[Sultana]

When I was buying a house, I looked at 3 and bought the 3rd, so it IS possible

I start screaming at the TV when they whine they don't like the colour of the walls and so they don't like the house. HELLO? You do know you can paint that, right??
So many people only look at the superficial stuff and don't look any further. As long as the structure of the house is good, you can do with it whatever you want.

 

[Pembo]

If all of HH is scripted, they need new writers.

There's no place to grill.
We can't live without two sinks in the bathroom.
I really wanted granite and stainless steel.
This whole room is a re-do.